Jim Goulart

Link while active, text follows: Power's Lucroy not happy unless Power winning Season-high winning streak ends with loss to Lexington by Jacob Messer Charleston Daily Mail sportswriter Jonathan Lucroy was sitting at his locker inside the Appalachian Power Park clubhouse last week when one of his teammates came by to congratulate him on another impressive performance at the plate. "Man," the teammate said, "you're killing the ball." "Yeah," Lucroy responded matter-of-factly, "but we aren't winning." A week later, Lucroy still is hitting and the West Virginia Power finally is winning. Well, it was until Tuesday morning, when the Class A club's season-high, five-game winning streak ended with a 6-3 loss to the Lexington (Ky.) Legends. "We lost today, but we have still won five of the last six," said Lucroy, whose peers named him the team captain before the season opener. "That's the way baseball goes. Sometimes, you win. Sometimes, you lose. "If we don't give up any runs in the first three innings today, we win this game. We aren't the best hitting team, and we aren't the best pitching team. We just need to be more consistent and put both of them together at the right time and we're going to win." Lucroy is 16-for-41 (.390) in his last 10 games with two home runs, six RBI and seven runs. He has raised his batting average to .310 and his totals to eight home runs, 28 RBI and 33 runs. Those numbers are among the reasons Lucroy will play for the Northern Division squad in the 49th annual South Atlantic League All-Star Game, which is scheduled for June 17 at NewBridge Bank Park in Greensboro, N.C. "I really don't care how good I do because we still aren't the best team in the league right now," said Lucroy, a catcher and designated hitter who joins center fielder Lee Haydel, starting pitcher Amaury Rivas and third baseman Zelous Wheeler as West Virginia's four all-star selections. "If we were, maybe it would be OK. I'm an All-Star, but it really isn't that big of a deal because we haven't done too well in the first half." West Virginia pitchers couldn't retire center fielder Collin DeLome, who was 4-for-5 with two runs and four RBI. He was only a double away from the cycle. "We elevated some pitches on him and made some mistakes to him," Power Manager Jeff Isom said. "When you make a mistake to him, he's going to hit. That's what happened today." Delome delivered an RBI triple in the top of the first inning, then scored on an RBI double by left fielder Brian Pellegrini. Delome tagged West Virginia starter R.J. Seidel for a three-run home run -- his 11th -- in the third. Third baseman Matt Cusick added a solo shot in the seventh for the Legends' final run. The Power scored once in the first on an RBI single by right fielder Caleb Gindl and twice in the seventh on an RBI triple by left fielder Eric Fryer and an RBI single by catcher Uly Snijders. Lexington reliever Brett Robinson (4-1) got the win after he threw four scoreless innings in which he allowed only one hit. Seidel (2-4) took the loss after he gave up five runs on five hits in 2 2/3 innings. Wheeler (2-for-4) was the only Power player with multiple hits. Seventh-place West Virginia dropped to 24-33 and eighth-place Lexington improved to 19-38 in a matchup of the Northern Division teams with the worst records. A crowd of 7,976 attended the fourth and final Grand Slam School Day - the Power was 0-4 in those early-morning home games this season. West Virginia will start a three-game road series against Kannapolis (N.C.) tonight at FieldCrest Cannon Stadium. The Power will start right-hander Rivas (4-1, 2.44). The Intimidators will counter with right-hander Anthony Carter (5-2, 2.77). * * * For those who like to keep up with the Power alumni, here is an interesting note about former West Virginia left-handed pitcher David Welch (2006). The Australian southpaw threw a seven-inning no-hitter for Huntsville (Ala.) in a 2-0 win over Chattanooga (Tenn.) on Monday night, which, incidentally, was his 25th birthday. He had a perfect game until he issued a two-out walk in the sixth. With the victory, Welch (7-1) became the first seven-game winner in the Class AA Southern League. Another Power alumnus, outfielder Matt LaPorta (2007), provided one of the runs with a solo shot. It was his 15th home run this season.

Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Iowa 31 27 .534 - 19-11 12-16 W1 Omaha 29 28 .509 1.5 15-15 14-13 W1 Memphis 30 30 .500 2.0 11-13 19-17 W1 Nashville 24 34 .414 7.0 12-15 12-19 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Huntsville 36 23 .610 - 19-11 17-12 W2 West Tenn 35 24 .593 1.0 20-9 15-15 W1 Carolina 32 27 .542 4.0 14-11 18-16 L2 Chattanooga 30 29 .508 6.0 19-15 11-14 L2 Tennessee 25 34 .424 11.0 12-18 13-16 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - FSL East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Palm Beach 37 21 .638 - 23-9 14-12 W4 Brevard County 30 28 .517 7.0 19-12 11-16 L1 Vero Beach 29 29 .500 8.0 17-10 12-19 L1 Daytona 27 31 .466 10.0 12-16 15-15 L2 Jupiter 27 31 .466 10.0 15-11 12-20 W1 St. Lucie 13 45 .224 24.0 6-24 7-21 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - SAL Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lake County 34 24 .586 - 15-15 19-9 L5 Delmarva 33 24 .579 0.5 20-11 13-13 W6 Lakewood 32 26 .552 2.0 16-14 16-12 L1 Greensboro 30 28 .517 4.0 13-17 17-11 W2 Hagerstown 28 29 .491 5.5 12-16 16-13 W1 Hickory 28 31 .475 6.5 12-17 16-14 W1 West Virginia 24 33 .421 9.5 8-18 16-15 L1 Lexington 19 38 .333 14.5 9-20 10-18 W1

Follow Wednesday's action as it happens: Here's what you do, right click on each of the links below and choose "Open in New Window". Choose "Log" or "Recap". While you're listening to your minor league game of choice (or watching/listening to the big league Crew when they are playing), simply refresh your game log browsers every so often. Huntsville: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_06_04_hunaax_cngaax_1 Brevard County: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_06_04_breafa_sluafa_1 West Virginia: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_06_04_wvaafx_kanafx_1

Wednesday's Daily Menu: All times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: Idle Huntsville: RHP Donovan Hand at Chattanooga (Reds), 10:00 AM pre-game; 10:15 gametime Audio link via WUMP (game will also archive at this link): http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/multimedia/audio.jsp?sid=t559 Brevard County: RHP John Axford at St. Lucie (Mets), 6:00 PM gametime Sorry, no audio for this series... West Virginia: RHP Amaury Rivas at Kannapolis (White Sox), 5:50 PM pre-game, 6:05 gametime Audio link via WSWW, be sure to select the proper date (game will also archive at this link): www.minorleaguebaseball.c.../audio.jsp

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Link while active, text follows: Greer will hum with sounds of country stars today By MIKE ORGAN Tennessean Staff Writer The Sounds have today off, but Greer Stadium won't be quiet. The City of Hope Celebrity Softball Challenge will be played at noon today at Greer. The Opry Live team will play AfterMidNite in the 18th annual game that benefits cancer research. Opry Live team celebrities include country music stars Carrie Underwood, Phil Vassar, Vince Gill, and Daniel Peck along with Titans players Kyle Vanden Bosch, Cortland Finnegan, Rob Bironas and Daniel Loper. The AfterMidNite team includes country music stars Jo Dee Messina, Montgomery Gentry, Randy Houser, Sara Evans and Blair Garner along with Titans players Donnie Nickey and Brandon Jones. Tickets cost $18. The Sounds return to action at 7 p.m. Thursday against Albuquerque at Greer. Whoa, Nelly: The Sounds' Brad Nelson is batting .370 (27-for-73) over his past 21 games. Nelson was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI in Tuesday's 3-2 loss in 10 innings to Iowa. Nelson's double gave the Sounds a 2-0 lead in the sixth inning, but Nashville did not get another hit. "It was a fastball outside and I got a good one right up the middle,'' Nelson said. Turnbow to start: A change in the Sounds pitching rotation was made Tuesday with former Franklin High star Derrick Turnbow replacing Lindsay Gulin as the starter Thursday. It will mark the right-hander's third start since joining the Sounds on May 28. Turnbow's best effort came Sunday against Iowa. He allowed no runs on one hit, struck out three batters and walked two in two innings. Pitcher injured: Iowa starting pitcher J.R. Mathes left Tuesday's game in the fourth inning after suffering from left groin soreness. Katin recovering: Sounds outfielder Brendan Katin was not in the lineup Tuesday night after being hit in the wrist by a pitch in Monday's game against Iowa. Katin was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center and released after being treated for a bruise. Katin, who hit two home runs Sunday against Iowa, could be back in the lineup for Thursday's game against Albuquerque. Rottino still rolling: Catcher Vinny Rottino extended his hitting streak to 13 games in the second inning by getting Nashville's first hit, a single. Rottino's streak is the longest active streak in the Pacific Coast League. He finished 1-for-4 against Iowa.

Link while active, text follows: Sounds fall to Iowa in 10 innings By MIKE ORGAN Tennessean Staff Writer Felix Pie's short grounder in the 10th inning Tuesday night allowed Eric Patterson to score from third, giving Iowa a 3-2 win over the Sounds. Pie's hit was a chop off the back of the pitching mound. Sounds pitcher Zach Jackson could not get to it and second baseman Callix Crabbe had trouble handling it. "The ball came off Jackson's glove and I knew Pie was fast and I wanted to make sure I made the play,'' Crabbe said. "My instincts told me to bare hand it, but the ball still had some spin on it and I wasn't able to get a good hold on it." Patterson's run was unearned and helped the Cubs win the series over Nashville 3-1 in front of a Greer Stadium crowd of 7,104. Patterson got into scoring position after hitting a two-out double to the warning track in right field and advancing to third on an error by right fielder Laynce Nix. Meanwhile, Nashville's bats went cold in the last four innings. The Sounds did not get a hit after the sixth. "We had a couple of opportunities,'' said Brad Nelson, whose RBI double in the sixth gave Nashville a 2-0 lead. "It was a tough loss especially after I felt we had control of it most of the way." Iowa, which had just four hits in the first six innings, rallied in the seventh with two runs. Jim Brower (1-0) struck out two in 1 1/3 innings to pick up his first win of the season for Iowa. Steve Bray fell to 0-4 for the Sounds after giving up one run on one hit and walking two batters in 1 2/3 innings.

Six different Sounds featured in the latest photo gallery from the Tennessean

Link while active, text follows: Power fizzles before big crowd Baserunning snafus contribute to 6-3 loss to Legends By Mitch Vingle Charleston Gazette Sports Editor The West Virginia Power played a baseball game on Tuesday. Just not very well. Two Power players - Eric Farris and Lee Haydel - were caught stealing, albeit by the Houston Astros' 2006 first-round draft pick, catcher Max Sapp. West Virginia third baseman Zelous Wheeler was thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double. Even manager Jeff Isom got into the mix. He called for a double steal with one out and two strikes on cleanup hitter Steffan Wilson in the third inning. Wilson struck out and Farris was cut down at third to end the threat. The result was an ill-timed 6-3 loss to the Lexington Legends in a battle of the worst teams in the South Atlantic North division. The timing was unfortunate for the hosts because Appalachian Power Park in Charleston was packed with a Grand Slam School Day morning crowd announced at 7,976. "We've won five out of our last six, but this was a tough game," said Power catcher Jonathan Lucroy, a designated hitter on Tuesday. "We had a lot of people here, a lot of kids. I hate to lose.'' Early indications were the game would be hotly contested. Both teams had a pair of hits in the first inning and Lexington took a 2-1 lead. But while the Legends, now 19-38, received a three-run homer from center fielder Collin DeLome in the third inning - to go along with an RBI triple in the first - and a solo shot from third baseman Matt Cusick in the seventh, West Virginia could put forth just one brief flurry. Unfortunately for the hosts, most of the crowd had gone home under the threat of rain when the Power scored twice in the seventh. West Virginia right fielder Eric Fryer knocked in a run with a triple off the center field wall and Uly Snijders pushed Fryer across with an ensuing single. In between came the Power snafus. "It's frustrating because we gave up some runs early on,'' said Isom. "We've been playing some pretty good baseball lately. And the common theme has been getting out to a lead early. We didn't do that [Tuesday]. We tried to battle back, but we just couldn't get anything going with our bats offensively. Five out of six, though, is pretty good.'' Isom said he was trying to jolt the team with his steal call in the third inning. "We didn't have a whole lot of offense, so we tried to get some things going, to jump-start us,'' said the manager. "But it failed. You're going to have those days.'' West Virginia's pitching staff, however, had a day that's typical of its season. After entering the game with a 5.14 earned run average, next-to-last in the Sally League, the staff allowed six earned runs and five walks. R.J. Seidel took the loss, falling to 2-4. Brett Robinson, now 4-1, earned the win for Lexington with four innings of one-hit ball. The Power, now 24-33, will begin a three-game away series today against the Kannapolis (N.C.) Intimidators at FieldCrest Cannon Stadium. Righty Amaury Rivas (4-1), will get the start for West Virginia. The Intimidators will counter with righty Anthony Carter (5-2).

Brett Pollock, if you're reading, the MiLB.com audio archive blanked out your entire interview with David Welch from Tuesday's pre-game, sorry...

http://www.wvgazette.com/images/thumbs275/Power1_G0806032vf32x.jpg West Virginia Power outfielders Eric Fryer (left) and Lee Haydel almost collide before Haydel catches a fly ball Tuesday against the Lexington Legends. Charleston Gazette Photo by Chip Ellis

Mark McCarter of the Huntsville Times -- Blog Entry ATLANTA -- A funny thing happened on the way to Atlanta. A Huntsville Stars pitcher threw a no-hitter. I snuck out of town on Monday, to spend time in Chattanooga with my mom and my daughter, who snuck a long weekend from work and flew home for a visit. Then I was headed here to cover the Braves for a couple of days. Tuesday morning, when I picked up the Chattanooga paper -- where I worked for 17 years, back in the days when we all wore fedoras with PRESS cards in the brim and people always yelled "Extra! and "Stop the presses!" -- I saw where the Stars' David Welch threw a no-hitter against the Lookouts. It was the second game of a doubleheader and my buddy David Paschall barely had time to squeeze in three paragraphs in his story in the Chattanooga paper, since it ended almost at midnight Eastern. I knew, with our deadlines, we'd not have much on it either. There's no worse feeling for us than to be watching history and have no time to report it adequately. I did a quick lunch at Nikki's, a small diner near downtown that's a Chattanooga landmark. (Onion rings the size of hula hoops. Fried shrimp the size of your fist. Cheeseburgers so good, you can rest one on your forehead and your tongue will slap your face silly trying to get to it.) Then I called Don Money, the Stars' manager, to have him track down Welch for me. I rushed by the team's hotel out near The Big Mall as it is unofficially known and immediately found pitching coach Chris Hook. Money came down to the lobby, then Welch wandered in from lunch. I figured I might have a little 500-word second-day follow up to the no-hitter, then I'd head on to Atlanta for the regularly scheduled column. Except it turned out that Welch was celebrating his 25th birthday, he has a son named Maddox, semi-named for Greg Maddux, he's from Australia and he was a terrific interview. So the 500 word story went to about 1,000. Still, hope you'll check it out today. Meanwhile, I'm in Atlanta. And I have stuff in the trunk of my rental car. And the battery on the remote control is dead. And I can't find a keyhole anywhere. The first person to e-mail me to tell me where the secret truck-opening button in a Pontiac Grand Prix is wins, well, my everlasting appreciation. *** Link while active, text follows: No big celebration for no-hitter Stars' Welch takes Monday's 2-0 shutout in stride Contact Mark McCarter at markcolumn@aol.com or visit his al.com blog at http://blog.al.com/mccarter Huntsville Times CHATTANOOGA - This is how David Welch celebrated two major milestones in his life: With a wee-hours-in-the-morning, two-block walk to an all-night mini-mart for an adult beverage. "I went down to the gas station, got a couple of beers and came back to my room," Welch said. "I had two and it was lights out." That's how Welch, a native of Sydney, Australia, celebrated his 25th birthday, 9,200 miles from home. That's how Welch, a Huntsville Stars pitcher, celebrated the first complete game no-hitter of his life. Wow. Like New Year's Eve at the senior citizens' home. Two beers. Lights out. He barely squeezed the no-hitter into his birthday, tiptoeing in just before midnight Eastern time in the 2-0 seven-inning victory over the Chattanooga Lookouts Monday in the second game of a doubleheader. He struck out six, walked two, was perfect through 5 2/3 innings, faced only 22 batters and didn't even need a miraculous defensive play, as most no-hitters seem to. Basically, he was lights-out. No one-pitch pony In the Chattanooga first, Cody Strait and Eric Eymann popped to second base. Sean Henry struck out. Things were already clicking smoothly between Welch and catcher Carlos Corporan. Not once would Welch shake off one of Corporan's signs. "They're as one right now," said pitching coach Chris Hook. In the second, Daniel Dorn and Justin Turner struck out and Drew Anderson flew to left. Though he came into the game 6-1, Welch had been relying too much on his fastball until Hook told him flatly, "Listen, you can't pitch with one pitch in Double-A." So, said Hook, "he's really embraced the change-up and his curve ball, which he was so much in love with, has become his third pitch." In the third, B.J. Szymanski struck out, Chris Denove grounded to short and Travis Wood popped up to second. "I really started thinking about (a no-hitter) at the end of the third, when I had gone through the lineup and I was fixing to face the No. 1 hitter again," Welch said. "It was in the back of my mind." In the fourth, Strait whiffed, Eymann grounded to short and Henry hit a smash to Mat Gamel at third, the first hard-hit ball of the evening. "In the fourth inning, in a seven-inning game, you start thinking about (a no-hitter)," manager Don Money said, "because you only have three innings to go." An Internet audience It may be the only two-Aussie no-hitter in American pro baseball history. On Aug. 5, 2005, Melbourne native Simon Beresford started for the Brewers' Helena farm club in the Pioneer League, then Welch followed in a four-man no-hitter against Billings. Welch had been an amateur hot-shot Down Under, traveling extensively on national teams as a high school player. He decided to come to the U.S. to attend Tyler (Texas) College but the school suddenly de-emphasized its baseball program. Two Tyler players, also Australian, transferred to Texarkana College. The Tyler coach put in a good word for Welch, and he tagged along. Welch continues to live in Queen City, Texas, a town of 5,000 or so. It's a reverse Crocodile Dundee deal. Instead of the man from the Outback going to a big city in the U.S., city-boy Welch is out in the sticks, learning to hunt and fish. In the Chattanooga fifth, he shot down Dorn and Turner on routine grounders, Anderson on a fly to right. Fans were trying to jinx him. "You've got a no-hitter going!" Though superstitious teammates were growing skittish around Welch, "I was just joking around, talking to the guys," he said. At one point, he even asked a solemn Gamel, "Do you know what's going on?" In the sixth, Szymanski flew out, Denove grounded to second and pinch-hitter Chris Valaika walked on a borderline pitch. Kelli Welch was listening to the game on the Internet. She said a cuss word or two. When David and Kelli were pondering names for their first-born, who arrived 3 1/2 months ago, they were thinking about baseball names. "Kelli said, 'Let's call him Pedro.' " David went through a few more names, finally coming to "Maddux." "I like that," Kelli said. "If it's a boy, that's it." They modified it to Maddox, with an O. Maddox was still awake when his mom started her fussing and he began giggling. He was laughing louder than he had in his life. "It's not funny," Kelli said to her baby. "He just lost a perfect game." Welch helps his cause Welch was the lead-off hitter in the Huntsville seventh, having escaped trouble in the sixth when Strait flew out. The Lookouts brought on newcomer Sean Watson, who was registering 93 to 95 mph on his warm-up pitches. "I'm like, 'You've gotta be kidding,' " Welch said. On the first pitch, Welch swung just as the ball hit catcher Denove's mitt. Both Denove and ump Toby Basner laughed. Watson was "pumping fastballs past me," but ran the count to 3-2. "I think the ball was past me, but I dropped the bat down and it hit it. It was a line drive past the first baseman," Welch said. He hustled all the way to second base, then later scored the second Huntsville run. When Mike Welch, David's father, called from Australia early Tuesday morning, forget the no-hitter. The first thing Mike said was, "You got a double, huh?" In the Chattanooga seventh, Eymann walked. Henry drilled a grounder to shortstop Alcides Escobar, who cashed it in for a 6-4-3 double play. Welch sent Dorn fishing for a curve ball in the dirt for strike three, then jabbed his fist into the blue-black sky. Teammates rushed the mound from their positions, from the dugout, even making the 100-yard dash from the bullpen. Said Welch, "You can't describe (the feeling)." In Sydney, his mom Narelle, a high school teacher, was at work. "She was," David said, "in middle of class screaming." Mike had listened to the game and read an Internet account, but phoned because "he still wanted to hear from me that I did it," David said. The Stars left the ballpark and drove through a sleepy city. Nowhere to party near their hotel. Just an all-night mini-mart to provide refreshments. "From celebrating my birthday on my own (away from family), to doing that," said Welch, "it kind of made it a really good day."

Tim Evearitt of the Chattanoogan with the latest Mat Gamel photo: http://images.chattanoogan.com/photo_images/photo_11598_large.jpg

Final: St. Lucie (Mets) 5, Brevard County 4 Brevard County Box Score Manatees remain allergic to walks as of late, so they fall despite out-hitting the Mets, 10-8 -- actually, for the season, the 'Tees are middle of the league in walks, but numerically closer to the top than the bottom; since coming to Brevard County, Josh Butler is 1-5 in eight starts with a 5.67 ERA, walking 18 and striking out 26 in 39.2 IP; every Manatee but # 9 man Brent Brewer had at least one base hit; Lorenzo Cain homered for a second day in a row... Brevard County Game Log Andy Bouchie an ugly strikeout in the first inning; Butler did a fantastic job pitching around two first-inning errors -- we give credit when we can; Brevard had committed three errors and a passed ball after just three innings...

Final: Huntsville 15, Chattanooga (Reds) 10 Huntsville Press Release: Stars Outlast Lookouts in Long Game HUNTSVILLE'S HIGH-POWERED OFFENSE CHURNS OUT BIG WIN Angel Salome collected three hits, walked twice and scored three times to lead a 21-hit attack in Huntsville's wild 15-10 win over Chattanooga Tuesday night in the fourth of a five game set at AT&T Field. The Stars improved to 36-23 and opened up a game and a half lead over West Tenn, a four-game edge on Carolina and a six-game cushion over Chattanooga with 11 games left in the first half. The Stars jumped on James Avery for four runs in the first inning on a three-run home run by Salome and a run-scoring double by Cole Gillespie, who knocked in his 40th run of the season. Salome took Avery deep in the Stars' first game against the right-hander at home on April 17 and Gillespie doubled in a pair against Avery in that same game. Craig Tatum's run-scoring single in the second and Justin Turner's line drive sacrifice fly in the fourth trimmed the Stars lead to 4-2. Avery was taken out after five frames, giving up four runs on 10 hits, a season-high, walking three and striking out two and was replaced by Pedro Viola. Viola walked Brae Wright with one out in the sixth and gave up a two-out single to Alcides Escobar before Mat Gamel doubled in both runners in to push the lead to 6-2. Salome and Matt LaPorta then walked to load the bases and chase Viola from the game. Michael Hyrnio took over and induced Gillespie to bounce into a force out at second base to end the inning. Wright walked Chris Valaika with one out and he scored when Turner doubled to center field. Turner moved to third base on a wild pitch but was left stranded when Cody Strait struck out and Craig Tatum lined out to center field on a leaping catch by Parejo. Michael Brantley singled in a run, Salome singled home a pair and Gillespie knocked in one with a base hit during a six-run seventh inning rally that extended the Stars' lead to a seemingly comfortable 12-3. Wright was taken out after six frames, giving up three runs on six hits, walking one and striking out two. He has now received 31 runs of support over his last three outings after receiving four while he was on the hill in his prior four turns. Wright has won each of his last three starts to improve to 4-5. Chattanooga answered back with five in the bottom half of the inning on run-scoring singles by Eric Eymann and Valaika, a bases loaded walk to Turner that chased Robert Hinton from the game and a two-run double by Cody Strait that greeted David Johnson. The Stars right-hander then walked Tatum to load the bases before striking out pinch-hitter Danny Dorn and Shaun Cumberland to keep it a 12-8 game. Huntsville tacked on three more in the ninth against Derrik Lutz on a Salome run-scoring single, a double by LaPorta that knocked in a run and an RBI ground out by Gillespie. The Stars matched their season-best in runs and have totaled at least 10 runs in a game for a 12th time this season. Omar Aguilar took over in the bottom of the inning and issued a pair of walks and a hit a batter before fanning pinch-hitter B.J. Szymanski for the first out. Cumberland's fielder's choice grounder and a throwing error on Escobar chased home a pair of runs before Eymann lined out to center field to end the game. The series concludes Wednesday morning with right-hander Donovan Hand taking the hill against Lookouts' southpaw Ben Jukich. Coverage of the game begins at 10:00 am central time and can be heard locally on SportsRadio 730 WUMP and through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com and www.730ump.com. Huntsville Box Score Angel Salome drives in six; two more errors for Alcides Escobar, now with 13 -- we know what Alcides is capable of, but you just can't dismiss all 13 -- Escobar's just getting them out of his system before the big league gig begins; only three hours, 50 minutes for this one... Huntsville Game Log

Final: Iowa (Cubs) 3, Nashville 2, ten innings Nashville Site Game Summary: Link for Brad Nelson photo, text follows -- Unearned Run In Tenth Gives Cubs 3-2 Win NASHVILLE - An RBI infield single from Felix Pie in the top of the tenth inning netted an unearned run and let the Iowa Cubs squeeze by the Nashville Sounds, 3-2, on Tuesday night at Greer Stadium. It was the second extra-inning affair of the four-game series between the division foes, with Nashville on the losing end in both contests. A string of 14 consecutive Sounds batters were retired in a row to end the game as Cubs relievers combined to pitch seven innings of one-run ball. Nashville (24-34) dropped three of four games in the series to the division-leading Cubs. Sam Narron pitched his best outing so far this season for the Sounds, giving up only two runs on seven hits in 7 1/3 innings but did not factor in the decision. It was the longest start by a Nashville hurler in 2008. Iowa starter J.R. Mathes matched Narron until he was forced to leave the game in the bottom of the fourth inning with a groin injury. He threw three scoreless innings while striking out two batters but gave up two singles in the fourth inning before handing the ball over to reliever Mike Burns. Burns was unable to strand the inherited runners as Adam Heether knocked an RBI single to left field that scored Callix Crabbe from third base to plate the first run of the game. Crabbe had led off with a single, and Brad Nelson followed with another single before being thrown out at home on Heether's hit. Nelson redeemed himself in the bottom of the sixth inning with a run-scoring double to left field that brought Tony Gwynn around to score from second base for Nashville. With his 2-for-4 night, Nelson is batting .371 with eight RBIs in his last 10 games. AUDIO: Brad Nelson RBI Double Narron kept the Cubs off the board until Jason Dubois crushed a two-run home run over the left field wall in the top of the seventh to even up the score for Iowa. It was Dubois's eighth on the year, and Matt Murton scored on the longball after doubling earlier in the inning. Iowa finally forced Narron out of the game in the middle of the eighth inning when he gave up a single to Koyie Hill and a walk to pinch-hitter Bobby Scales. Narron turned the ball over to Mitch Stetter who promptly struck out the next two batters to end the inning. Steve Bray then pitched a scoreless ninth inning to give the Sounds hitters a chance, but Nashville was unable to get on the board, forcing the game into extra innings. Bray gave up a two-out double to Eric Patterson in the top of the 10th inning and Patterson advanced to third on the play due to a fielding error from right fielder Laynce Nix, the Sounds' first error in their last seven games. Zach Jackson came in to relieve Bray and gave up an infield single to Pie to score Patterson from third. The run was unearned but charged to Bray, spoiling an otherwise solid night for Sounds pitchers. Jim Brower (1-0) earned the win for Iowa after pitching 1 1/3 scoreless innings to end the game, and Bray (0-4) was tabbed with the loss for Nashville. The entire PCL will enjoy a day off tomorrow before the Sounds return to action at Greer Stadium on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. against the Albuquerque Isotopes in the opener of a four-game series. Right-hander Derrick Turnbow (1-0, 10.13) will man the bump for the Sounds against righty Frankie De La Cruz (6-2, 4.53) for the Isotopes. Nashville Box Score Nashville Game Log

Nashville Pre-Game Audio Chat with Infielder Chris Woodward

One of the reasons Jim Powell is such a fine broadcaster and good guy is that Brewerfan suggested to Jim that he arrange a phone interview from Chattanooga with David Welch for the Milwaukee pre-game interview today, and he immediately agreed and set about to make it happen. Surely it must have been a nice bonus for David -- here's the audio, fantastic stuff -- thanks, Jim & a very well-spoken David.

Huntsville Top 1st http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif - Michael Brantley singles on a ground ball to right fielder Shaun Cumberland. - Alcides Escobar singles on a bunt ground ball to third baseman Eric Eymann. Michael Brantley to 2nd. - Mat Gamel grounds out to first baseman Tonys Gutierrez. Michael Brantley to 3rd. Alcides Escobar to 2nd. - Angel Salome homers (6) on a fly ball to right field. Michael Brantley scores. Alcides Escobar scores. Matt LaPorta doubles (15) on a line drive to left fielder Sean Henry. - Cole Gillespie doubles (17) on a fly ball to right fielder Shaun Cumberland. Matt LaPorta scores. - Mike Bell singles on a line drive to left fielder Sean Henry. Cole Gillespie to 3rd. - Freddy Parejo strikes out swinging, catcher Craig Tatum. Mike Bell out at 1st. Mike Bell out on batter interference.

Final: Lexington (Astros) 6, West Virginia 3 West Virginia Site Game Summary: LEGENDS END POWER WINNING STREAK The Lexington Legends used four hits and five RBI from Collin DeLome to snap West Virginia's five game winning streak in a 6-3 victory over the Power on Tuesday morning at Appalachian Power Park. DeLome's first hit was a run scoring triple in the top of the first inning. He scored moments later on a double from Brian Pellegrini. West Virginia cut the lead in half on Caleb Gindl's two-out RBI single in the bottom of the first. It remained a 2-1 game until Delome ripped his 11th homer of the season, a three-run shot in the third inning putting the Legends ahead 5-1. The Legends used the long ball to plate their final run when Matt Cusick went deep with a solo shot in the seventh inning. The Power scored twice on four hits in the bottom of the seventh inning. Zelous Wheeler scored on Eric Fryer's triple and Fryer came across on a base hit from Uly Snijders. Brett Robinson (4-1) allowed just one hit in four scoreless innings of relief to get the victory. R.J. Seidel (2-4) was tagged with the loss after allowing five runs on five hits over two and two-thirds. Jose Garcia and Reed Dickert combined to toss six and a third innings of relief, allowing just a run on four hits with seven strikeouts. The Power fell to 24-33 with the loss and the Legends improved to 19-38 with the win. The loss dropped West Virginia's record to 0-4 on Grand Slam School Days. Wheeler paced the Power with a 2-for-4 performance. DeLome went 4-for-5 for Lexington and came a double away from the cycle. The Power will begin a three game series against the Kannapolis Intimidators at FieldCrest Cannon Stadium on Wednesday night. Right hander Amaury Rivas (4-1, 2.44) will get the start for the Power and the Intimidators will counter with right hander Anthony Carter (5-2, 2.77). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM (6:05 Central). West Virginia Box Score Jose Garcia's best effort of the year, by far; not the best of days for R.J. Seidel... West Virginia Game Log

Matt with his best journal entry of the season thus far Reminder -- send him an email question...

Fixed, thanks.

It's much tougher to be a South Atlantic League All-Star than it is in the Florida State or Southern Leagues based on the number of teams, so this is indeed a nice report. Excellent to see Rivas and Wheeler recognized for their efforts, Lucroy was an automatic, and the vote giving Haydel a spot, a starting one yet, is very promising. Congratulations to the guys...

Link while active, text follows: Power lands four players in SAL All-Star Game Lucroy, Haydel are Northern starters; Wheeler, Rivas also on team for June 17 game in Greensboro, N.C. Charleston Daily Mail Not only does the West Virginia Power have a season-high, five-game winning streak. Charleston's South Atlantic League baseball team, struggling throughout the first half of the season, also has a surprising number of SAL All-Star Game selections. The teams for the 49th annual SAL All-Star Game have been named, and as the Power took the Appalachian Power Park field this morning for the final Grand Slam School Day game of the season, it was with four members of the Northern Division All-Star team. Two Power players - catcher Jonathan Lucroy and center fielder Lee Haydel - were chosen as Northern starters. Zelous Wheeler was selected as a backup infielder, and West Virginia had one member of the 11-man pitching staff in right-hander Amaury Rivas. On the Northern team, only division-leading Lake County had more selections than the Power. The Captains' five picks includes four pitchers. Lakewood also landed four players on the Northern squad. The SAL All-Star Game will be played June 17 at NewBridge Bank Park in Greensboro, N.C., to close the first half of the low Class A league's season. The 2009 All-Star Game will be played at Appalachian Power Park. The 26-man all-star rosters were voted upon by SAL team front office executives, managers and coaching staffs, and media regularly covering the league. Among the Power's SAL All-Star picks, Lucroy has been hot lately. The Power catcher is hitting .312 with eight homers and 28 RBI. The speedy Haydel has 21 stolen bases, and the center fielder is hitting .273 with eight doubles and 13 RBI. Wheeler, who has played most at second and third base for the Power, is hitting .266 with five homers, 31 RBI and eight steals. On the mound, Rivas leads West Virginia with four wins (4-1) and has a 2.44 ERA with seven starts in 11 appearances. He has 39 strikeouts and 17 walks in 52 innings. Lake County Manager Aaron Holbert will guide the Northern stars. For the Southern Division, Asheville had a league-high seven players selected to the SAL All-Star Game, including five starters. Asheville skipper Joe Mikulik will manage the Southern Division for the fourth time in his career. Currently in his ninth season at the Tourists' dugout helm, Mikulik also managed in the SAL All-Star Game in 2000, 2001 and 2007 and played in the game as a member of the Houston Astros' organization in 1985. Greensboro will be hosting the SAL All-Star Game for the fourth time. Greensboro also hosted the game in 1980, 1982, and 1990. The annual SAL All-Star Game dates to 1960, when the All-Stars defeated the Salisbury club, 6-2, in Newton, N.C. -- 2008 SAL All-Star Teams The rosters for the 2008 South Atlantic League All-Star Game, scheduled June 17 at NewBridge Bank Park in Greensboro, N.C. Northern Division Manager -- Aaron Holbert, Lake County. Coaches -- Edwin Rodriguez;. Greensboro; Ruben Niebla, Lake County; Ramon Sambo, Delmarva; Jim Rickon, Lake County. Trainer -- Julio Hernandez, Greensboro. Pitchers -- Ryan Miller, Lake County; Kelvin De La Cruz, Lake County; Ryan Morris, Lake County; Sean Gleason, Delmarva; Amaury Rivas, West Virginia; Sergio Severino, Lexington; Drew Naylor, Lakewood; Andrew Battisto, Greensboro; Corey Madden, Greensboro; Vinnie Pestano, Lake County; Garrett Parcell, Greensboro. Catcher -- Jonathan Lucroy, West Virginia (starter); Joel Naughton, Lakewood; Sean Rooney, Hagerstown. First base -- Bill Rhinehart, Hagerstown. Second base -- Matthew Cusick, Lexington. Third base -- Bobby Spain, Hickory. Shortstop -- Jose De Los Santos, Hickory. Right field -- Michael Burgess, Hagerstown. Center field -- Lee Haydel, West Virginia. Left field -- Michael Taylor, Lakewood. Designated hitter -- Michael Durant, Lakewood. Utility infielders -- Miles Durham, Hickory; Zelous Wheeler, West Virginia. Utility outfielders -- Roman Pena, Lake County; Joseph Nowicki, Delmarva. Southern Division Manager -- Joe Mikulik, Asheville. Coaches -- Torre Tyson, Charleston (S.C.); Andy Skeels, Augusta; Kevin Boles, Greenville; Doug Linton, Asheville. Trainer -- Chris McKenna, Kannapolis. Pitchers -- Jhoulys Chacin, Asheville; Joey Williamson, Asheville; Randall Taylor, Asheville; Daniel Otero, Augusta; Daryl Maday, Augusta; Madison Bumgarner, Augusta; Jason Stephens, Charleston; Jonathan Ortiz, Charleston; Alexander Cobb, Columbus; Felix Doubront, Greenville; Henry Mabee, Kannapolis. Catchers -- Jesus Montero (starter), Charleston; Luis Exposito, Greenville; Francisco Pena, Savannah. First base -- Michael Jones, Greenville. Second base -- Everth Cabrera, Asheville. Third base -- Darin Holcomb, Asheville. Shortstop -- Yamaico Navarro, Greenville. Right field -- Jason Heyward, Rome. Center field -- Michael Mitchell, Asheville. Left field -- Brian Rike, Asheville. Designated hitter -- Jordan Abruzzo, Savannah. Utility infielder -- Justin Snyder, Charleston; Frederick Freeman, Rome. Utility outfielder -- Maiko Loyola, Columbus; Emeel Salem, Columbus.

From Monday -- Huntsville WUMP Pre-Game Audio Interview with Pitching Coach Chris Hook Be sure you select the audio archive of June 2nd, then go to the 5:00 minute mark -- discussion begins with Omar Aguilar analysis, moves on to Mike Jones and Brae Wright